#legend of wildermyth

[thespacelizard]

THEY HAD A KID AND NAMED HIM DWALFIN?

[rpgchoices]

So the current rpgs I have in my wishlist are

Legends of Eisenwald Quest for Glory Ultima 7 and Ultima 8 Balrum Sacred Gold Spellforce Platinum Nox Fell Seal Arx Fatalis Caribbean Legend Colony Ship Zoria Age of Shattering The Waylanders The Iron Oath Dark Envoy Vagrus - The Riven Realms Wildermyth Ashen Atom RPG Elex Grim Dawn Serpent in the Staglands Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen Examina Lords of Xulima Spellforce 3 Fallen God Titan Quest

I need to find out how many of these actually have characters, like with actual characterizations, quests and stories.

[miyakuli]

Wildermyth

Wildermyth is a tactical rpg in the form of several short tales in which your characters gradually become the heroes of their own story, or even legends that will endure over the generations.

I've played half of the game's individual quests (so I won't talk about the multiplayer aspect, as it hasn't been tested), and my current feeling is somewhere between addictive routine and weariness.

❤ Character customization is quite rich: you can choose your physical appearance (including clothes and other accessories to boost your stats), your gender and sexual identity, and your personality traits. All of these can trigger events and opportunities specific to each character (relationships, transformations, special quests, etc.). Add to this the fact that characters can be mutilated after a battle (modifying their stats and attacks) but also age over time, and I think this strengthens our attachment to each of them. ❤ Each story is quite different from the others, with a rather poetic tone overall, but also with a few touches of humor and more dramatic moments. ❤ The legacy system is pretty cool; it allows us to start a new story with a previous character or even their descendants. It gives a kind of continuity to the whole game. ❤ The game allows mods :D deal for adding more events/quests or customizable elements <3

+/- The game is affordable for beginners and above, given its simplicity, but even so, certain functions could have been better explained in the first part. I quickly found myself overwhelmed by the subtleties of the gameplay, and had to start again once I'd understood everything, in order to approach my game more serenely (and more strategically :p). +/- The musical loops are nice and never really boring….but there are still very few different tracks. +/- Events and opportunities enrich the storyline and character development, but are too often repeated in each story. Moroever, the gameplay doesn't evolve between stories either. As a result, for someone like me who likes to play a game through to the end, it becomes repetitive and tiresome after a while. I think that gamers who are the type to come back to it occasionally will appreciate it more. (+/- The french version is very good, but some events are still in English / the staff seem to be reactive, so this will surely be fixed if we let them know).

✖ Fights are slow, especially when the area is full of monsters. After 30 hours of gameplay, this becomes irritating. ✖ The difficulty balance is weird. I played it in normal mode (adventure) and either the battles were far too simple, or on the contrary, far too punishing (a dozen monsters appearing every round for a maximum of 4/5 heroes can make you sweat very quickly). ✖ The map isn't really that useful; you walk around, eliminate the threat, secure…. over and over again….it's okay at first, but after a while it gets tiresome.

Wildermyth is therefore a rather charming and original game with its generational system, but it should be approached more like a role-playing game: you start a new scenario with a choice of character, and once the story is over, you leave it aside and come back to it later for a new quest. In which case, the game will feel far too repetitive, since from one game to the next, nothing really changes apart from the story.

➡ My Steam page

[mooestriovermind]

Video Games I Enjoy Playing / Have Enjoyed Playing, in no particular order:

This post ended up being a lot longer than I thought it was going to be initially. Games towards the top are in more recent memory while most games descending towards the bottom I haven't played in a bit, but with many exceptions that I don't care to point out.

People keep asking me what games I like, so I decided to make a relatively cohesive list of everything I have played at one point and also developed positive memories with it, be they from gameplay or the people I got to talk to while playing.

I have highlighted games that I would consider my "Favorites" in orange, because orange is one of my favorite colors. Anything colored in orange I have *really* fond memories of, as opposed to the ones that I have positive associations with but may have some issues with the game in some way, whether it's not having played it very much at all, or not finding it as fun as those in orange, or some other reason.

Slormancer, DotA 2, League of Legends, Ruined King: A League of Legends Story, Baldur's Gate III, Dead by Daylight, Team Fortress 2, Warframe, Risk of Rain (the original), Risk of Rain 2, Terraria, Tmodloader, DOS II, Slay the Spire, XCOM 2, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Gunfire Reborn, Stellaris, Darkest Dungeon, Darkest Dungeon II, Borderlands 2, Borderlands 3, Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, Skul: The Hero Slayer, Hades, Monster Train, Nosgoth (RIP), Evolve Stage II (RIP?), Gigantic (RIP), Hollow Knight, Across the Obelisk, Dishonored, Dishonored II, 7 Days to Die, Dead Cells, Robocraft (RIP), Elden Ring, Rogue Legacy 2, Block N Load(RIP), Batman Arkham Series (especially City), MGS:Snake Eater, MGS:Sons of Liberty, MGS:Ground Zeroes, MGS:The Phantom Pain, Peglin, Undertale, Styx: Master of Shadows, Styx: Shards of Darkness, Battleborn(RIP), Payday 2, Saints Row IV, Roboquest, Satisfactory, Deep Rock Galactic, Crab Champions, The Outer Worlds, Fallout: New Vegas, Tyranny, SNKRX, Tribes: Ascend(RIP), Armello, Toribash, Valheim, Vampire Survivors, Griftlands, SF:6, Deathloop, Apex: Legends, Titanfall 2, Dark Souls: Remastered, Dark Souls III, Bloodborne, RE:5, Tabletop Sim, Raft, Pathfinder: WotR, Slime Rancher, Slime Rancher 2, Barony, Fistful of Frags, Dino D-Day(RIP), Brotato, Besiege, Don't Starve Together, Bastion, Transistor, Just Cause 2, Just Cause 3, Stardew Valley, Absolver(RIP), Grounded, Trine 2, Mark of the Ninja, Gotham City Impostors(RIP), GG:Strive, Prey, Doom (2016), Doom Eternal, Ravenswatch, Wolfenstein: The New Order, FTL, Backpack Hero, SFV, Slasher's Keep, CONVERGENCE, Potionomics, Rounds, Ember Knights, Blacklight: Retribution(RIP), Remnant II, GMod, Shadows Over Loathing, Friends vs Friends, Boneraiser Minions, Rivals of Aether, Aragami, Kingdom, Lunacid, Screencheat, Wildermyth, Ace Attorney Series, PvZ, PvZ:GW, PvZ:GW2, Vermintide II, Double Action: Boogaloo, Curse of the Dead Gods, SCP: Secret Laboratory, L4D2, Scribblenauts Series, Skullgirls, Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, Noita, Inkbound, Dungreed, Celeste, Chivalry, Spellbreak(RIP), West of Dead, Blazblue Entropy Effect, Spelunky, Spelunky 2, Void Bastards, DB FighterZ, Depth, Tower of Guns, Disco Elysium, YOMI Hustle, Magicka 2, Super MNC(RIP), Helltaker, Inscryption, Lumencraft, Broforce

[wanderingandfound]

I've been playing DAO for less than two weeks (August 17th–August 28t) and it's already my third most-played game on Steam, behind Wildermyth (After Christmas 2023–February 17th, 2024) and Baldur's Gate 3 (February 14th–April 11th, 2024).

The games I've played the longest are Legend of Zelda games on my Wii/Switch, so I don't have stats for them but besides TotK I've played them all over the course of years. Likewise Pyre I have from itch, and so no stats, and Hades is on my Switch but my brother has also played so those stats aren't just me.

Outer Wilds (on Epic) is tied with DE at 46 hours (and I still haven't finished it). Portal 2 (2023, 25.6 hrs), Anodyne 2 (2022, 24.9), and The Entropy Centre (2023, 22.7) are all around the same.

[strangecloud]

StrangeCloud's big list of cool video games you should play

Wildermyth - The most beautifully written story generator-type RPG currently in existence. Think up characters, watch them interact, form bonds, get old and pass into legend.

Undertale - Just play it my man it's not edgy to hate it anymore

Grim Dawn - Like Diablo II but twice as good and ten times more miserable

State of Decay 2 - The best survival game bar none. Play as a whole community of people in the zombie apocalypse without needing to do any multiplayer. What a concept

Command and Conquer Renegade-X - Also in the vein of not playing multiplayer, have fun against bots in this FPS/RTS hybrid

Your Only Move is HUSTLE - Turn-based tool-assisted fighting game in which every match results in a sick ass stylish replay of the whole fight

Mirror's Edge - First-person parkour platformer with some of the best visual design ever put to screen

Caves of Qud - Classic ASCII-Style roguelike in a rich world. The game is as batshit crazy as you want it to be

Sifu - Trance-inducing action game about sick kung-fu moves, perfectionism, and repetition

Telltale's The Walking Dead - Lightning in a bottle. One of the best games in the adventure genre renaissance of the 2010s. Pretend it never got any sequels

Get to the Orange Door - Shoot, go fast, die and do it over again in this synthwave-inspired movement shooter

One Finger Death Punch - The most fun you can have with only 2 buttons

Planetside 2 - Large-scale PvP shooter. Like, really large. Coast-to-coast, continental-style capital-L Large

Burnout Paradise - The only good racing game ever made

[wolfie170]

Just finished the first campaign of Wildermyth.

I started with Garroth, the Snarky Leader Warrior; Fidigan, the Hot-headed Greedy Hunter; and Dranbin, the Poetical Romantic mystic. Throughout I made a point of not changing anyone's personality or re-rolling for new characters/abilities, EXCEPT to make them all queer.

Garroth and Fidigan fell in love over the course of the campaign. Garroth and Dranbin were friends, eventually becoming lifelong companions, but Fidigan and Dranbin were rivals.

I won't go into the whole story, but my highlights:

-Fidigan, my least favourite at the start, became one of my two favourite party members. He also got infected with a Gorgon crystal.

-Dranbin, my other favourite, spent her whole life dreaming of romance. She never found any, but she did cockblock someone else and became close friends with a squirrel.

-One night Dranbin's favourite bard stumbled by chance on the party's campfire and gave them all a private concert.

-Garroth's main hobby was digging. Just. Digging.

-at the end I promoted Dranbin to local legend because she didn't get as much epilogue as everyone else and I felt sorry for her. Given her penchant for storytelling, I like to think she deliberately started most of the legends herself.

-Fidigan and Dranbin's dynamic was my favourite. At one point, Dranbin went down in a fight and Fidigan rushed to help her. I was given the choice: either Dranbin retreats, and is nerfed for the rest of the campaign, or she shows up Fidigan one last time and dies in a blaze of glory.

-The party's first recruit was Morsha, the Greedy Leader, also a Warrior. She and Garroth immediately became rivals. I tried to get her and Dranbin together. It never happened, but Dranbin did rescue Morsha from a "date" that turned out to be an ambush.

-Between chapters, Morsha had a son named Jernwym who also grew up to be a warrior. By the end of the game I had a party of seven and only five could go on the final mission, so I decided if the 3 OG characters and Morsha were going, it made sense to take Jernwym too (as the natural fit to lead The Shepherds once the older characters retire). He ended up getting the killing blow on the final boss.

-Much like Garroth and Fidigan, Jernwym also started a romance with Vick, the final recruit and a Hunter. They opened a tavern together in the epilogue.

-My other recruit was Opelia, a Goofy Coward mystic. She only got to fight a couple times, but she did bump into her estranged father in another town and Jernwym helped them reconcile.

-Morsha, Garroth and Dranbin found a farmer who didn't want to admit his cattle were turning into Gorgons. They saved him, and at the end of the game in the epilogue Morsha went back to check on him.

-Vick met a god.

-Fidigan and Garroth helped a childhood friend reunite with the ghost of his dead wife.

-Once, before a battle to secure a town overrun by monsters, Dranbin dreamt of a young girl like she had once been, who was training to be a mystic. The girl was the only person in her town with aptitude for magic, and was hailed as a hero and given a silver necklace. When monsters came to the town, she died trying to fend them off alone. The next day, Dranbin woke up, helped rescue the town nearby, and found a silver necklace in the wreckage.

-No one died! Garroth and Dranbin each came close, but only once. I think I need to increase the difficulty.

[eliavraay]

"If I was Myeshnac the Morrowseer. If I could backthrow a black javelin through the stars to plunge through the whelm of time... I would hurl it at the feet of my younger self. Tied to it, a braid of signal ribbons: fly away, Pyarc. Retreat. Do not stop. Find a far and other happiness. Go."

"For most of my life, I failed to realize the many ways our legends fool us. And I was a fool."

~~~

Lady Pyarc, from the game Wildermyth. It's a crime, there are not dozens of fanarts about her. Or the other drauven characters through this amazing story. T.T

https://www.wildermyth.com/

[pharos-ryoji]

Update 6 left and I still don't have this theme on anyone I'm dying

I have 15 more achievements to get in wildermyth but man are those 15 going to take a while

[thespacelizard]

important update: Jarlaxle has acquired an immortal cat

[lady-ginnie]

Just finished the first campaign in Wildermyth, and while I didn’t choose this character to be my “Local Legend” at the end (that honor went to her girlfriend, who got the killing blow on Ulstryx), she was BY FAR my favorite character to play. Ignite+ is the way to go with Mystics, if you can get it. Nadia killed nearly everything she hit with her interfused fire, it was GREAT.

[stevensavage]

The Writer’s Game: Wildermyth

(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve's Tumblr.  Find out more at my newsletter.)

Wildermyth (released 2021, Worldwalker games) took the computer gaming scene by storm even after nearly two years in Early Access.  It was well-praised by many, and I can personally attest that it was both fun and gripping.

In the game, one takes a series of generated characters through various adventures, facing monsters and challenges.  Your party faces enemies tactical battles with enemies, wanders the land scouting and rebuilding towns, and engages in unique story moments.  Characters may become legends and be used again in other games – or even reappear randomly – and become more powerful and famous.

It is a game of making legends and remixing them – much as humans do anyway.  It also provides many lessons for writers.

Nail The Feel

Wildermyth ensures it feels like a you’re experiencing an epic tale.  The game’s graphics look like storybook art – on the battlefield, characters and scenery look like paper cutouts.  Appropriate moody music plays throughout your adventures.  Character appearances change, sometimes radically, as mythic powers and experiences change mind and body.

Wildermyth communicates with you by having the proper aesthetic.  Every part of it says “storybook legend.”  Storytellers – whatever their media – need to set the mood as well.

Wrap The Mechanics

As mentioned, in Wildermyth, you save characters after successful adventures and other actions.  This lets you reuse them, “remixing” heroes old and new in adventures and even improving them for later games.  The game portrays this as a “Legacy” of stories that is remixed – like our own Arthurian legends.

Of course, this is just a classic “Roguelite” mechanic of past adventures paying off for later play.  But Wildermyth cleverly wraps the mechanic in a kind of “meta-story” that works with the feel of the game.  Sometimes in writing, “recasting” a common idea differently both enhances a tale, but also ties into the aesthetic you’re aiming for.

Wildermyth contains other familiar mechanics as well – grid-based tactical battles, choose-your-own-adventure options, etc.  But all of these work in service of the game’s aesthetic and goals.

The Moments Count

As one plays Wildermyth, small “plotlets” emerge – partially randomized, partially due to character traits and situations.  A character may find a hidden gem, befriend a forest creature, or have an idea how to ambush an enemy.  Choices may make combat easier, change a character, have them fall in love, etc.

All of these “plotlets” add up over a game session, evolving the characters and their stories.  Your characters are not just an epic quest; they’re composed of these moments, evolving them into someone else.  They may even seem to take on a life of their own as you play.

For writers, this is a reminder that character details matter – characters are composed of them.  It’s also a reminder that these details mean characters may surprise you unexpectedly.

Change Is All

Stories are about change of some kind, even if the only change is in the reader.  Wildermyth embraces change.

In Wildermyth, every battle, every “plotlet” changes the characters and the world.  Enemies get stronger, learning from defeat.  Characters grow in experience, fall in love, get married, become werewolves (really), and more.  In long games, party members retire and may even die, with their children carrying on their legacy.

This change gives the game both urgency and meaning.  There is an urgency to make every moment count, and meaning because every action has repercussions.  In short, it makes each game a story.

Wildermyth I is an example of how change both makes and drives a story – because you play through that change and experience it.

Living the Legend

Wildermyth is a game about creating stories.  Though there are familiar mechanics, the way they are implemented and combined makes the game, well, legendary.  With so much driving your adventure forward, it becomes gripping, personal – and a game writers can learn from.

Lessons for Writers

All works have a feel.  Aiming to achieve that is important to deliver your tale.

You can “re-wrap” familiar mechanics and elements in new ways to fit the feel of your story – and get away with standard but expected aspects in new ways.

Characters are composed of details and “plotlets.”  Being aware of that brings them to life in ways that can surprise you.

Change is what a story’s about.  A good story moves forward (appropriately), and change brings both meaning and grips the audience.

Steven Savage

www.StevenSavage.com

www.InformoTron.com

[candycomposer]

Michelle Packman is an incredible cellist who has played for all sorts of big names (Eminem and League of Legends among them!), and she's agreed to play on the Wildermyth soundtrack!

Learn more about her and check out the campaign to record Wildermyth's score with live instruments at the link. If you have a moment to share with friends who might be interested, I'd really appreciate it. Thank you for your support!

[hardcoregamer]

Wildermyth Starts Its Story With Beta Release

Wildermyth isn’t so much an RPG of a single adventure but rather a series of stories about exploring The Yondering Lands, creating a party and watching its legend grow as your characters age, change, form relationships, and eventually die or retire.  The choices you make determine everything from character relationship status to the type of scars your characters earn, including losing limbs as a result of a poor decision in its tactical turn-based battles.  Time passes whether you’re exploring a new region, renovating a captured fortress, or training up a new party member, and while you can certainly split the party to multitask throughout the land that’s always a questionable tactic.

Check it out!

https://www.hardcoregamer.com/2019/03/02/wildermyth-starts-its-story-with-beta-release/326161/

[addongame-com]

Игровые новости от AddonGame https://addongame.com/news/ratchet-clank-rift-apart-i-deathloop-lidiryut-po-kolichestvy-nominacii-na-d-i-c-e-awards/

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart и Deathloop лидируют по количеству номинаций на D.I.C.E. Awards

Академия интерактивных искусств и наук (Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, AIAS) объявила финалистов 25-й премии D.I.C.E. Awards. Лидером по количеству номинаций оказалась Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart — она претендует на девять наград, в том числе главную. Deathloop, также заявленная в категории «Игра года», упоминается восемь раз.

Третье место делят Inscryption и It Takes Two — каждая присутствует в шести категориях. Returnal может получить пять призов. За звание игры года поборются все пять названных проектов. Четыре из них (кроме последнего) претендуют на приз за достижение в гейм-дизайне (вместе с Loop Hero) и режиссуре (пятый номинант — The Artful Escape).

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart также могут наградить за достижение в технической составляющей и звуковом дизайне. В обеих категориях она сразится с Returnal и Forza Horizon 5, а во второй — ещё и с It Takes Two. Помимо этого, приключенческий экшен Insomniac Games могут отметить за художественное оформление, анимацию и создание персонажей. Во всех трёх номинациях ей противостоят Kena: Bridge of Spirits, Resident Evil Village и Deathloop. Вдобавок Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart рассматривают в категории «Лучшая семейная игра».

Deathloop могут признать лучшим экшеном (конкуренцию ей составят Returnal, Halo Infinite и Metroid Dread) и отметить за саундтрек (здесь её соперники — It Takes Two и Returnal). Игре Hazelight Studios может достаться титул лучшего приключения — шансы получить его есть и у Resident Evil Village и Psychonauts 2.

Inscryption поспорит с Loop Hero и Age of Empires IV в категории «Лучшая стратегия или симулятор». Карточный хоррор может быть назван лучшей инди-игрой (во второй категории он попробует обойти Loop Hero и Death’s Door) и проектом с лучшим сюжетом (здесь заявлена Psychonauts 2).

Полный список номинантов (59 игр в 23 категориях):

Игра года:

Deathloop;

Inscryption;

It Takes Two;

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart;

Returnal.

Лучший экшен:

Deathloop;

Halo Infinite;

Metroid Dread;

Returnal;

The Ascent.

Лучшее приключение:

Death’s Door;

It Takes Two;

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy;

Psychonauts 2;

Resident Evil Village.

Лучшая семейная игра:

Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Happy Home Paradise;

Cozy Grove;

Mario Party Superstars;

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart;

Warioware: Get it Together.

Лучший файтинг:

Guilty Gear -Strive-;

Melty Blood: Type Lumina;

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl.

Лучшая гоночная игра:

F1 2021;

Forza Horizon 5;

Hot Wheels Unleashed.

Лучшая RPG:

Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker;

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous;

Shin Megami Tensei V;

Tales of Arise;

Wildermyth.

Лучшая спортивная игра:

FIFA 22;

Mario Golf: Super Rush;

NBA 2K22;

Riders Republic.

The Climb 2.

Лучшая стратегия или симулятор:

Age of Empires IV;

Gloomhaven;

Griftlands;

Inscryption;

Loop Hero.

Техническое достижение в области VR-игр:

Lone Echo II;

Puzzling Places;

Resident Evil 4 VR;

Song in the Smoke;

YUKI.

Лучшая VR-игра:

Demeo;

I Expect You To Die 2;

Lone Echo II;

Resident Evil 4 VR;

Song in the Smoke.

Выдающееся достижение в инди-играх:

Death’s Door;

Inscryption;

Loop Hero;

Sable;

Unpacking.

Лучшая мобильная игра:

Behind the Frame;

Fantasian;

League of Legends: Wild Rift;

Moncage;

Pokémon Unite.

Лучшая мультиплеерная игра:

Back 4 Blood;

Call of Duty: Vanguard;

Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker;

Halo Infinite;

Knockout City.

Выдающееся достижение в гейм-дизайне:

Deathloop;

Inscryption;

It Takes Two;

Loop Hero;

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart.

Выдающееся достижение в игровой режиссуре:

Deathloop;

Inscryption;

It Takes Two;

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart;

The Artful Escape.

Выдающееся достижение в анимации:

Call of Duty: Vanguard;

Deathloop;

Kena: Bridge of Spirits;

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart;

Resident Evil Village.

Выдающееся достижение в художественном оформлении:

Call of Duty: Vanguard;

Deathloop;

Kena: Bridge of Spirits;

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart;

Resident Evil Village.

Выдающееся достижение в создании персонажей:

Deathloop — Кольт Ван (Colt Vahn);

Kena: Bridge of Spirits — Кена;

Life is Strange: True Colors — Алекс Чэнь (Alex Chen);

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart — Ривет (Rivet);

Resident Evil Village — леди Димитреску (Lady Dimitrescu).

Выдающееся достижение в оригинальном саундтреке:

Deathloop;

It Takes Two;

Kena: Bridge of Spirits;

Psychonauts 2;

Returnal.

Выдающееся достижение в звуковом дизайне:

Forza Horizon 5;

Halo Infinite;

It Takes Two;

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart;

Returnal.

Выдающееся достижение в сюжете:

Before Your Eyes;

Inscryption;

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy;

Psychonauts 2;

The Forgotten City.

Выдающееся техническое достижение:

Battlefield 2042;

Forza Horizon 5;

Moncage;

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart;

Returnal.

Победителей определят участники AIAS — более 33 тысяч экспертов из разных областей игровой индустрии. Церемония награждения пройдёт 24 февраля в Лас-Вегасе в рамках мероприятия D.I.C.E. Summit. В роли ведущих вернутся Джессика Чобот (Jessica Chobot) и Грег Миллер (Greg Miller).

В 2021 году игрой года по версии D.I.C.E. Awards стала Hades.

По материалам: 3dnews.ru

[bmaxwell]

Best Games of 2021: Not the Top 10

I have a top 10 list. This is not that.

Old Game of the Year

Days Gone

I was led to believe that Days Gone was a bad game. A big budget AAA flop that was a waste of time. It's also an open world third person action game in a post-apocalyptic zombie wasteland. None of this sounds like it's for me.

I don't remember if I got the game with PlayStation Plus at some point or what, but I decided to give it a whirl. Maybe my expectations being impossibly low played a part, but I loved Days Gone. Modern day zombie party is not a setting I have experienced very much, and having a biker dude as a protagonist was likewise kind of refreshing. I liked Deacon St John well enough, and appreciated his search for his missing wife with his buddy by his side.

The game is absolutely gorgeous, and I enjoyed exploring the world. The combat felt good, and figuring out how to plan and execute on destroying the game's zombie hoards was a freaking blast. The game even hit on some emotional moments and made me chew over some of its big moments and how I reacted to them, which I didn't expect. I also got to have a Death Stranding baby fetus inside my motorcycle.

I'm bummed that we aren't getting a sequel.

Also good non-2021 games: 13 Sentinels, Astro’s Playroom, Pathway, Frostpunk, Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel, Yakuza 6: The Song of Life

Keiichi Okabe Presents: Best Music

NieR Replicant ver. 1.22474487139

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OY-6wIG5kk

Between NieR Replicant, NieR Reincarnation, and Voice of Cards, this was Keiichi Okabe's year. All 3 games had really great music. He has a gift for creating peaceful, slightly melancholy music that resonates with me. I love being in the worlds of the NieR games, and the music is a big part of that.

Also very good music: NieR Reincarnation, Voice of Cards, Eastward, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, Loop Hero, Ruined King

Pooping Game of the Year

Super Auto Pets

Mobile gaming is a cesspool filled with ads, microtransactions, and predatory business practices. It's hard to find a good game that isn't scummy. Some years I don't have any mobile games I play. This year I had 2. The one I played the most by far was King God Castle, but that game is shitted up with microtransactions so fuck that.

Super Auto Pets is also free to play and includes MTX, but they're of the "pay once and unlock" variety which is far more palatable. It's apparently a descendent of the auto chess fad that was in vogue for 6 months a few years back. Each animal in the game has a unique ability, and after every round you have a chance to buy and sell, building synergies into your team of ducks and giraffes. It's a fine game to play whilst pooping.

Also a good way to pass the time while dropping a deuce: King God Castle, Cookie Run Kingdom

Early Access Game of the Year

The Last Spell

There are a lot of bangers out in early access right now, but The Last Spell was the biggest surprise for me and the one I spent the most time with. Despite being turn-based, it appeals to the RTS player in me who loves to turtle up and endure, letting the enemy forces throw themselves into the meat grinder I've set up.

Rather than having structural defenses, The Last Spell is mostly about a handful of warriors/archers/mages blowing up swathes of baddies round after round. Survive a night, get some upgrades and new gear, and repeat until you die.

This category gets the biggest asterisk possible, as I went out of my way to limit my play time with some of the games listed below. Ooblets and Darkest Dungeon 2, for example, are games I don't want to burn out on before they hit 1.0.

Arcanium, Across the Obelisk, Ooblets, Darkest Dungeon 2, Gordian Quest, Rogue Legacy 2

It's not you, it's Me

Wildermyth

Sometimes a game comes along that I'm excited to get my hands on and then, for whatever reason, doesn't do it for me. Death's Door's lack of a minimap sprayed diarrhea all over an otherwise terrific experience. I spent too much time wandering around trying to figure out what to do next, which is admittedly a Me problem. But it just sapped my desire to keep playing.

Or Cris Tales, a turn-based RPG with a neat aesthetic and time travel mechanic, a game that launched on the Xbox with a weird glitch that made the controller lose connection to the console at every new screen. I didn't enjoy myself enough to come back after they finally issued a fix.

The winner this year though is Wildermyth, a really thoughtful procedurally generated strategy RPG that I can tell is something special, but it just didn't compel me to keep playing. Was it the visuals (which I hate) or fact that the older I get, the less I find myself getting absorbed in D&D-style high fantasy stories?

Hollow Knight Silksong Presents: Looking forward to it

Whatever the next Yakuza RPG is

After falling head over heels for Yakuza 0, then burning through Yakuza Kiwami 1 & 2, I fell in love with the series all over again with last year's turn-based entry Like a Dragon. No follow up has officially been announced, but I shall will it into existence if I need to.

Also hoping to see in 2022: Salt & Sacrifice, Goblin Stone, Goodbye Volcano High, Lakeburg Legacies, Haunted Chocolatier, Horizon Forbidden West